Saturday 16 January 2021

Halfway Through The Month

I forgot to schedule this to appear at 7am this morning, which means I can tell you that we have that quite unusual sight for Suffolk in January........SNOW. It's falling steadily but only tiny bits not huge fluffy flakes so probably won't last long once it stops. Quite windy too, blowing it off the open fields. Not a morning for going out anywhere.

Last night the first of a new series of The Last Leg was on Channel 4 - if you want to laugh and don't mind jokes that are not quite politically correct then have a look on the 4 catch up channel. Goodness knows why Adam Hills should come back from Australia to host it - after his film of the sea and sunshine and people enjoying themselves in a country with very few cases of virus.....think I would have stayed!

 So here we are over the hump and heading down the January hill thank goodness. January is my least favourite month of the year. February is shorter and much more hopeful although not necessarily warmer!

I took my boot-load of metal things to the scrap-yard yesterday - always an adventure! It's a busy place full of huge trucks being unloaded by the giant cranes and magnets so my car load of tins of nails, hinges and unrecognisable stuff looks very small in comparison. Brother in Law said it wasn't worth the journey but I had to clear the workshop somehow. I came away with the grand total of £13.33 transferred into my bank account. It works out at a 24 mile round trip so I ended up in profit by a little! and now the workbenches in the workshop are all clear ready for the new owners.  The young bloke buying this place is a joiner so he'll make good use of the workshop- I'm pleased about that.
 
Other than the above it's been a very uneventful week, my only other trip out was to the Co-op and hardware shop in Debenham  for apples in the first and for black sacks in the second. I'm packing  the spare duvets and curtains into double layers of sacks rather than boxes. Things like that take up too much space in a box. What might be useful would be those bags that you suck the air out with a hoover but the last time I had one it soon started leaking air so I won't bother again. There's no airing cupboard at the bungalow as the new boiler is out in the garage so spare things will have to go under the spare bed - not very good for Feng-shui but then I'll not be sleeping in it!
 
There's a job list for next week which includes making more cheese with the bottles of gold top that I put in the freezer about two or three months ago and never got round to using and delivering things that have been stored here for a couple of years to the person they belong to.  Plus of course packing more boxes.


This week I'm grateful for
  • The removal company getting the boxes to me so I can pack something everyday
  • Clearing almost everything from the workshop
  • And as always some really good reading.

Have a good weekend
I'll be back Monday
Sue

52 comments:

  1. We always packed duvets, blankets, pillows and cushions in black sacks, as like you said, they're a bit bulky for a box and as boxes seem to be scarce best to save them for breakable objects. Having a clear space is always a pleasing sight. Won't be long now.

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    1. Hope all things to do with the move are going well behind the scenes - I expect I shall find out soon if there are any hitches

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  2. A little snow is a thing of beauty...it's the stuff that lingers long enough to become dirty that's not so lovely. x

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    1. It was really wet snow that fell here and only collected a bit where the wind blew it into little drifts. It's been going since 11.

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  3. The best 'suck out the air bags' are from Lakeland. A bit more expensive but with these the plastic bags are then inside a fabric outer with internal straps to keep the squished things confined in case any air does get in, and they have handles for pulling them out from under the bed.

    For moving purposes though and short term storage I find if you have good quality black bin bags you can fold the duvets or stack pillows etc and then kneel on top of the bag to exclude all the air and tie a couple of good knots I have found this to work almost as well as the 'proper' bags.

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    1. I wonder how much under bed storage boxes are - ones on wheels might be an idea. I shall compare with the Lakeland bags you've mentioned

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  4. I agree. Why on earth would Adam Hills want to come back here when he had that? I had the same problem with Vac u Sacs too, and if they leak after you've stuffed them in a cupboard they can swell up to fit the gaps between other things.

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    1. It looked so beautiful out there in Australia. He said he'd come back to cheer us all up - made be smile last night!

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  5. I don't know anything about these moving thing bags, I just stuffed the duvet on the back seat of the car along with my pillow and sheets and blankets, put all old ones that had been kept "just in case" into the dustbin, and drove to my new house.

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    1. I replaced them with new ones from the John Lewis sale a few weeks later.

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  6. We had snow in the early hours of this morning which was quite thick,I overslept this morning after being awake for a lot of hours and most of the snow has gone and rain is here instead which is better.
    Pleased you got most if the workshop is done, I remember my 3 sheds were a nightmare to be cleared for there were 55 years of stuff to get sorted now I have no sheds except a big greenhouse which of course get bits and pieces in it.
    Hazel c uk 🌈🌈🌈

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    1. I'm really pleased with how tidy the workshop is looking should be perfect for the new owners. Although I've now put some items of wooden furniture out there which I hope to pass on, so not quite empty

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  7. just after 11 and it's stopped snowing, looks like it's turned to drizzle now. Nice while it lasted, made sure I got lots of photos.
    Have a good weekend.

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    1. Horrible wet snow here with ice underneath - glad I'm not driving today

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  8. I put an elastic band over my wrist. Then pack the duvets in the black bag. Gather up the neck and suck the air out with the vacuum hose then fasten closed with the elastic band. Ta-da! It reduces the total volume. I got cheap poundshop vac bags 3 housemoves ago, for clothes. After a while they do let in air BUT when first filled&sucked, I can put 3 bags into a suitcase and zip up the lid, thus trebling the amount I'd normally pack in it.

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    1. Clothes are OK as they provide wardrobe boxes and the rest are in a chest of drawers so dont need packing. But I have the 2 "winter" parts of the 2 double duvets and cutains that didn't fit here but I kept as they were good quality.Plus a slleping bag and aquilted throw.

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  9. Snow in Suffolk? Not something you get to say very often.

    Can I caution you about using black sacks for textiles? I have known a couple of instances where patchwork quilts were accidentally sent to landfill because "they were in black bags". thankfully not mine, but still very sad.

    Can I suggest you at the very least tape large labels to the outside of the bags so that they are not mistaken for trash?

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    1. The last lot of snow must have bee the Beast from the East in 2018. It's nearly gone again now.
      Hopefully rubbish will all be long gone before I move so nothing to throw out after the move. But I will label the bags anyway

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  10. £13.33 sounds good to me for something you would otherwise just bin. Save it and buy yourself a treat after you move! :o)

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  11. When we last moved I found clear 'bin' bags at Wilko's and I think Tesco's which at least means that you can see what's inside.

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  12. Sounds like you're making good progress with getting ready for your move. It should be a doddle when the big day comes! xx

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    1. Packing 1 or 2 boxes everyday for the next 4 weeks should get it nearly sorted

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  13. No snow here but it was raining this morning for ages, then the sun came out and G tootled off to the allotment. Result! A bit of peace! πŸ˜„ At least I can get on with some jobs. You are really motoring on with clearing out. Its so hard to do it alone so hats off to you Sue, well done.

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    1. I don't mind packing stuff into boxes as long as I don't have to move them afterwards!

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  14. January would be my least favorite month, too, we're it not for December. The dark days before Christmas feel like they're going to go on forever. Having Christmas (which I love) in December was a jolly good idea!

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  15. The days are slowly getting longer. It's good to know the workshop will be used well.

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    1. Yes a young family for the house and a practical use for the workshop

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  16. The best thing about reaching the middle of January is that we are now over half way between the clocks going back in October and forwards in March! You sound super-organised in your preparations for the move. We know we will eventually have to move nearer our offspring but it's too soon to get rid of stuff which we need to live our lives in the here and now!

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    1. I envy people who have few belongings but I've got so many interests and hobbies and family who will come and stay and grandchildren who will come and play that I seem to need lots of things for all that

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  17. Might I suggest you put a disposable dryer sheet in with your things in the bags???
    It keeps things smelling good and not the least bit musty.

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    1. I don't use dryer sheets but hopefully things won't go musty in a dry bungalow

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  18. I hope the snow does not cause any serious problems. If you don't have to go out it can be beautiful to watch. You are so well organized with your moving preparations that you could teach a class in it. (or write a book on organized moving!)

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    1. I stayed at home so no snow problems but I have some problems elsewhere to share tomorrow

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  19. I find January really hard to get through without a bit of depression but this year I've been good so far. I love February but that's because it's my birthday month :)

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    1. I used to really struggle through January when I had to work outside a lot but now I can hibernate it's much better

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  20. I almost feel like we're neighbors (not hardly with me in middle of USA and you in England) as we had snow and wind yeaterday also. I feel like I sent on over to you. Today the sun shone for a good portion of the day and it was over 40 degrees (F) so much melted.
    I shudder to think what I'd have to do here if I ever move. We live on Farmer's home place with 4 generations of stuff in all the sheds/barns/buildings. We would have to have a huge auction but I would not be able to go through all the items. I'm going to just leave it all for the boys to deal with. :D

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    1. Today we have sunshine too. Don't know what the temp is as there's a cold wind. Snow has more or less gone

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  21. This really is happening so very quickly! I am excited to see the new place.

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    1. Yes compared to the last two moves which got held up for various reasons and took 6 months each - things look to be smoother this time - although you never know.

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  22. Great to get all the workshop cleaned out. I made endless lists whenever we moved and labelled everything. Made things a lot easier at the other end :)

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    1. Just need a trip to the recycling centre now and find someone to store the things I will eventually take to the auction yard

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  23. Things are really moving along for you. Soon you will be in your new place.

    God bless.

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  24. I am glad you are getting things taken care of before you move. No fun to move. We've not moved in 31 years. I keep on clearing out items we no longer use. Including garage. I was going to work on that this past summer but due to injury I had in July I wasn't able to do it. I will have to go back and read where you are moving to. I hope it all goes well for you as you pack.

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    1. This will be my 3rd move since 2016! Not too much more to clear out

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  25. We would have made a fortune out of the scrap metal we ended up taking to the tip but there is no scrap place at X-Hands any longer so it was needs must. Nearest ones Neath or Swansea so not worth several journeys down there.

    Glad you got boxes early from your removal people. We have flat packed the ones we used for the essentials so our removal chaps can at least take those back with them today. I am on my own to deal with their arrival as Tam and Keith gone for his Covid vaccination - in Carmarthen! Why couldn't the appt. have been LAST week?!

    We are having to buy another bed as our big headboard won't fit up the stairs! Ah well, we needed one for the spare bedroom anyway, so not the end of the world.

    How big is your new bungalow? 2 bedrooms I am assuming?

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    1. 3 Bedrooms - one small. Good sized living/dining room and medium size kitchen. Bathroom and also en-suite to my bedroom with space for office/crafts

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